Pushover
by Poisoned Scarlet
Summary: The things this girl convinced him to do.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater.

**Pushover  
>by. <strong>_Poisoned Scarlett_

The things this girl convinced him to do, he grumbled to himself. He shuffled from one foot to the other, cursing the merciless weather for blessing them with snow on this late night. But, more importantly, he cursed the girl who had once more managed to tug on his heart strings with her wide, cinematic, eyes and her soft, hopeful, smile when she asked him a question that had honestly gone in one ear and out the other. His answer had always been _yes_ but tonight he regretted bending to her will so easily.

He could have at least put up a fight – or shrugged on another jacket, as he blew breath into his pale hands in an effort to warm himself up.

"I got them!" Maka waved two tickets in the air, beaming that joyous smile that always made her eyes brighten up like lights. The things he did for this girl, his meister. Her smile was warm enough to bring some heat back to his body.

"Great," Soul sighed, stuffing the ticket in his pocket. "There goes the twelve bucks I was saving up for a CD..."

Maka frowned at his bitter comment. "No one _asked_ you to come, Soul. If you didn't want to, you could have stayed home!"

"Yes, you did! You practically _begged _me to come!"

"I did not, you liar!" Maka crossed her arms over her chest huffily. "I _offered_ and you said yes!"

"Offered my ass..." He mumbled, dodging a sharp punch to his shoulder. "Anyway, what's this movie all about? Do people die in it?"

"In this one a couple of characters do." She said, looking troubled. "Dominique dies! I really liked him, too, he was so funny..."

Soul snorted. "Funny for you is Black Star cracking lame jokes about his god-status. And that isn't funny at all because he doesn't have one."

"Shut up! I _do_ have a sense of humor!"

He shot her a toothy grin. "Coulda' fooled me!"

"Maka Chop!" She slipped her book back into the inner pocket of her coat, ignoring his twitching form on the ground in favor of observing a group of hardcore fans chattering excitedly about the movie.

She smiled at their enthusiasm.

"You should go join them." Soul suggested, rubbing the bump on his head. "They'd probably accept you into their society-UGH!"

Maka slipped her book back into her coat without so much as a flinch.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Soul snapped, wincing at his sore head. That would take a while to heal. "I meant like joining a book club or something. The movie is based on a book, right?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't join a club based on this series." Maka confessed, conserving warmth by huddling into her coat. "I'm not that crazy about it."

"You sure don't act like it - you've been talking about this movie for _days_." He pointed out, dryly.

"Only because the director did a great job on the last one! But this movie was directed by someone else... I hope they don't ruin it. There'll be a lot of angry fans if that happens."

"Yeah... 'cause it's a _phenomenon_." He leered at her with his infamous sharp grin.

Maka swatted his arm at his tease.

"Shut up, it's not a phenomenon!"

"Is so." Soul replied, adding: "And we're a part of it, too. We've been standing here for the past two hours and there are at least fifty people in front of us..." He glanced over his shoulder warily. "And that's not counting the people behind us."

"That still doesn't quantify it as a phenomenon, Soul." Maka rolled her eyes.

"No, but this is happening in all the theaters in the US right now - so _that_ does." He smirked at her unamused look. "Guess you aren't the only geek that reads this damn series...when will it be over, anyway?" He grinned, mockingly: "I need my beauty sleep."

Maka snorted. "Next year is the final movie." Her eyes lit up, an excited smile spreading across her face. He hid his own smile behind his hand when he faked a yawn. "I can't wait to see it! It was such an spectacular battle in the book, the movie should be awesome!"

"Heh. Chill out, Maka, you haven't even seen this one yet." He looked off to the side, to the clusters of people that were walking towards the theater to stand in line like they were.

It really _was_ a phenomenon, just from what he's seen. He hadn't accompanied her the first time it came out a year ago: she had taken Tsubaki to keep her company instead. But this year he decided to go more out of worry for her safety than willingness. Maka was set on watching the midnight screening and it was nearly impossible to convince her otherwise once she set her mind to something.

He breathed into his hands, hoping to warm them up again. He cursed the producers that set the date to the middle of November - the temperatures were already dipping below forty six degrees and his leather jacket could only keep him warm him for so long.

"Fuck, when's it gonna' start? It's shitting cold out here!" He growled, half an hour later.

"Soul, shut up!" Maka snapped, frowning at his language. "Relax, we'll get in soon."

"How soon?"

"Twenty minutes or so." Maka estimated, giving her watch a quick glance. She was also impatient - but more out of anticipation than the weather.

"It better be warm inside..." Soul mumbled, slouching against the wall. Despite arriving so early, they were still ways away from the entrance of the theater. Shouldn't they be seating them already? It took a while to get settled in and he could only guess how damn long the lines for popcorn and snacks would be...

He glanced at Maka, who stood beside him with her hands nestled into her own pockets. Her nose and cheeks were flushed from the cold, and she was looking at the group of enthusiasts with veiled amusement again.

He'd probably end up buying the snacks. He dug around in his pocket for a second - yeah, he brought enough.

"Oh! The lines moving!" Maka alerted, with a bright smile. "C'mon!"

"About damn time..." Soul grumbled, trailing after her. He handed the ticket over to the employee, shoving the stub into his back pocket and following Maka into the lobby. Before they could go inside the theater, he thumbed over his shoulder. "Hey, you go pick out a seat and I'll catch up in a bit!"

"Eh? Why?" Soul pointed to the lines for snacks and other theater-friendly snacks. "But, how will you know where I am?" Maka asked, hesitant.

"I'll smell your soul." He winked, and she rolled her eyes at him. "Just sit toward the middle and I'll find you - hurry up! Before all the good seats are taken!"

"Fine... Just don't take too long." Maka reluctantly walked into the theater while Soul slipped into the line, waiting behind 5 other people. He usually hated this part of going to the movies: waiting in line had never been his cup of tea but he dealt with it for the sake of being civil.

Getting the snacks had been the easy part, was his first thought when he entered the dark theater only to see what seemed to be hundreds of people milling around looking for seats or stuck in the same situation as him. He groaned softly but walked down the dim aisle carefully, searching for the outline of pigtails when her voice stuck out sharply from the mass of movie-goers.

"Soul! Over here!" Maka called out, not bothering to whisper when the theater was alive with excited chatter.

Soul sighed in relief and began to make his way over to her when a squeaky voice paused him.

"Oh! Soul, is that you?"

He turned to see a thin girl with long, cascading hair, her big brown eyes shining brightly at him. He could barely make out her face under the light from the advertisements and previews flashing across the giant screen.

"Oh. Hey." He uneasily greeted. He knew she spoke to him a lot during the weapon-exclusive class but he never bothered with her name. "You like this series, too?"

"Uh, yeah! I love it! It's the best!" She gushed, quickly.

He allowed a smile to quirk his lips. "Then I guess you'd get along with Maka pretty well."

"Oh...is she here?" The girl asked, dully.

He didn't miss the sudden tone change. He grinned lopsidedly, hiding his annoyance by glancing back in the general direction he heard Maka's voice come from. "Yeah, I was gonna' sit next to her, actually."

The girl pouted. "Why don't you just sit right here, next to me...?" She was using that voice; the sultry tone Blair often teased him and his friends with. He knew it all too well. He silently thanked the cat-witch for that.

"No, thanks, it wouldn't be cool to leave my miester all alone in a theater." Protecting her had been the reason he'd come, afterall.

"She can make friends with the other nerds! They're all sitting behind her!" She insisted.

True, they were, but he still refused. She could have all her friends around her but he'd _still_ sit next to her.

He shook his head. "Nah... I heard this movie was a little scary." He smirked, slyly. "She might need someone to hang onto during the scary parts. See ya' around." He walked away, his eyes zeroing on his miester. As the girl had said, Maka had made a friend...with the wrong gender.

"Hey, here." Soul smoothly interrupted, handing Maka her soda and box of popcorn. He surveyed the guy who was smiling just a little too much, smug when the colour drained from his face at the sight of his sharp, threatening, teeth. "Making friends already?"

Maka nodded, so adorably ignorant to the bad intentions this guy had. This was exactly why he wanted to come with her: to keep those hungry mutts away from his meister! He noticed the guys eyes flashing down her neck every few seconds. It was pretty obvious if you paid attention, something Maka lacked at the moment. She was very used to this, to her chagrin, what with her short skirt and long, desirable, legs and all.

"His name is Derek and he saw a preview of the movie a couple of weeks ago! He told me the movie really _will_ live up the expectations of the first! Isn't great, Soul?" She beamed up at him, and he softened his menacing look.

"It better be good." He commented, stretching in his seat. "I didn't pay twelve bucks to watch a crap movie."

"Who was that girl you were talking to?" Maka asked, curiously.

Soul spared her a glance. "Beats me. All I know is she's spoken to me before, but I don't know her name."

He missed the relief on her face. "Oh...You should at least learn her name if she talks to you."

Soul shrugged, stifling another yawn. "I'll learn it when I have to."

Maka didn't like the thought of that girl trying to get closer to Soul, and this was the main reason she had been reluctant to bring him with her. He was popular, especially with the girls, and almost everywhere he went, at least _one_ girl tried to speak to him. Although he was mostly detached when he spoke to them, as he was with every other person who spoke to him aside from their crowd of friends, she had the gut-twisting fear that one day, when a girl spoke to him, he'll react to her seductions.

The movie rolled and Maka forced herself to focus on the horror film instead of her troubled thoughts, eventually able to loose herself in the gruesome images. At the appropriate parts, she jumped, and Soul would snicker beside her. But she ignored him in favour of not missing a scene.

"Ooh, no!" Maka groaned, along with a few others, when the ice-breaker Dominique succumbed to the beast that dwelled within the spacecraft. "Damn. Why did you go in the room?" She mourned, slumping in her seat as the second most popular character was slowly torn in two.

"Anyone who goes down a black hall has to die. That's the rule," Soul stated confidently, discreetly taking a sip of her soda since he finished his and couldn't bother to stand up to buy another.

"Since when is _that_ a rule?" Maka whispered, acussingly.

Soul grinned and whispered into her ear: "Because, Maka, that's the outline directors have to follow for horror movies or else it wouldn't be as fun."

Her face warmed when his lips brushed the rim of her ear and she hastened to lean away. "That's a dumb rule..."

Soul merely popped the cap of her soda and chewed on some ice. "Now you know how I feel about laws."

Maka shot him a warning look he ignored before going back to the movie.

The rest went without incident until the end, when the love interest of the protagonist got impaled by the creatures tentacle-like extra limbs.

"Shit." Maka swore, to his amusement. "That didn't happen in the book! She better live-" And she watched as the woman crawled to the gun on the floor, forcing it upright to help her sit back. Blood poured gruesomely from her wound, but she strove to shoot the thing that was trying to mutilate her partner.

Soul thought at least everyone in the theater held their breath when the girl shot - or at least he knew Maka did, since she exhaled in relief when the girl nailed the creature in the back of the neck as Soul had predicted nearly five minutes ago.

"That was totally set up for a sequel." Soul yawned out when the screen faded black and the credits rolled.

"But it was such a great movie!" Maka squealed enthusiastically, jumping up from her seat and stretching her arms above her head. "I was surprised by how well they organised it!"

Soul listened patiently as his meister rambled on and on, a small smile on his face. It had become a rare occurrence to see his meister with such a large smile and twinkling green eyes as of late. He would commit the way her voice burst with contained excitement and her cheeks flushed from laughter to memory if it was the last thing he did.

It was freezing outside.

A shudder ran down Soul's body at the arctic air. He noticed Maka had begun to tremble visibly, growing worse with every step they took. Her coat wasn't the most insulated and he had half a mind to loan her his jacket (even if he froze a little himself) when that squeaky-voiced girl walked out of the theater holding onto a boy who appeared to be excitedly talking about the movie.

He saw her eyes scan the dispersing crowd, as if looking for someone, and he had the sinking feeling it was him.

_Man, how uncool,_ he inwardly grunted, turning back and deciding he'd just deal with her silly crush on him later. Or never.

When his ears caught the chattering of teeth, Soul scoffed a small chuckle at his meisters stubborn will to plod forward against the chilly winds. He pulled Maka closely under his arm, his smile widening at her shy squeak.

"Ah, Soul?" She timidly questioned.

"You're cold, right?" was all he said, walking to his motorcycle with an air of inconsequence.

"Mm..." Maka hummed in subdued agreement, unsure of what to do with his arm pulling her so closely to him. He was warm, very warm, and decided he was only being kind and sharing his body warmth. She didn't dare to think it meant something else; she knew her partner well-enough to know that sometimes the things he did could be misinterpreted as romantic even though he meant them in a totally platonic manner. He was simply a nice guy like that, Maka thought with a warm smile.

"I should invest in a car." Maka sighed, heaving a leg over the motorcycle as Soul turned on the ignition.

"Why would you do that?" Soul muttered, adjusting the brightness of his headlights. "Cars are so uncool."

"They're safer." Maka bit her lip to keep her teeth from chattering. "And have interior heating."

Soul looked over his shoulder, finding her huddled in her coat to conserve warmth. She was looking drowsily to her right, to the brightly lit streets that had suddenly gone empty.

Everyone had already left home.

"Just lean on me if you're cold," Soul softly suggested.

A violent shiver tore down her body and she grunted when he revved forward, the force pulling her back. The wind was biting and icy, almost burning. She took his offer and leaned forward and buried her nose in his back to avoid the cold air. It wasn't a long ride but it was long enough for her hands to feel numb and her fingertips number. When he finally parked the bike, Maka let him go and quickly got off. She crossed her arms over her chest as she opened their apartment complexes metallic entrance door, tossing a glance over her shoulder.

"Hurry up, Soul, it's fucking cold!"

"I'm going, I'm going." He calmly said, stuffing his keys in his jackets pocket. "Don't get you panties in a twist."

Maka waited until he was a couple of steps behind before entering the complex and jogging up the stairwell, blowing into her freezing hands in hopes of regaining some feeling. She quickly opened their apartments door, Soul already beside her with another lazy yawn. Maka entered the warm apartment with a sigh of relief, glad to be back home after such a long day. The door shut, and Maka made the beeline for the couch while Soul threw his keys on the coffee table and made his way into his bedroom sleepily. She dug around the cushions and pulled out one white glove. She searched a little more for its partner but found nothing.

"Soul, have you seen my gloves?" Maka yelled.

"Aren't they on the couch?" came his muffled voice from within his bedroom.

"No! I only found one..." She trailed, searching under the cushions once more. She searched floor and then peered at the dining room table, finding that bare of her glove as well. "Damn, I need those to sleep..."

The heater didn't reach her bedroom very well and there was a slight crack under her window that allowed icy air to draft in continuously. She recently taped it closed but her room was still freezing, with her sheets even colder from being uninhabited for more than twenty hours. She shuddered at the thought of warming those sheets up all by herself, without the useful help of their heater.

"Good night, Soul!" Maka called into the dark, receiving a muffled, "night!" in return. She eyed the couch for a second before reaching below and pulling on a lever, converting the couch into a bed. There was no use, she guessed, she'd have to crash on the couch tonight until she got her window fixed the next morning. She padded to her room, flinching at the cold gust of air that assaulted her. It was definitely too cold to find comfort under her bed sheets and she hurriedly changed into her hatch-green sleeping pants and shirt.

She undid her hairbands and then grabbed fistfuls of her comforter and pulled it off her bed. She stuck her pillows under her arm and gently closed the door behind her, walking back to the couch to set up her bed for the night.

The living room was toasty warm; inviting, as she spread out her sheets on the sofa bed and piled up pillows around the place she'd be sleeping. Maka snuggled under her sheets with a long sigh, stretching out on her back like a cat. It was so warm in the living room, lying on the cushioned couch, that she didn't notice when her eyes had slipped closed and her body succumbed to the exhaustion...

"_Hey!_" A finger nudged her side and Maka groaned, cracking an eye open to see Soul looming over concernedly. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"Too cold." Maka yawned, groggily. "And the window's broken..." Her eyes felt heavy, like lead. It was too early to be up. "'I'll be fine here...n'ght." She murmured, turning on her side. A soft sigh later and Maka was being picked up by Soul. She released an almost pained groan from being deprived of the warmth of her sheets and managed a glare weakened by the amount of fatigue she felt.

"Soul!" She hissed, as the boy began to walk away from the sofa bed with her in tow. "I already told you my room is cold-" She was surprised when he pushed open _his_ bedroom door and dropped her on his bed. "But this is...your room."

"It wouldn't be cool to let a girl sleep on the couch." Soul simply explained, stifling a yawn.

"But where are you going to sleep?" Maka asked, concernedly. She was taking his bed, after all.

He shrugged. "Couch? You already have blankets laid out so I might as well."

Maka frowned. Having him take her place on the couch while she slept comfortably in his bed sounded wrong. After another second, Maka decided: "Just sleep here with me."

He rose a brow. "You sure?"

Maka nodded. "Yeah, it's technically your bed and we'll be warmer if we combine our body heat!" She smiled at him. "Plus, I trust you, so why not?"

This was one thing he adored about Maka: her naiveness. Although various inappropriate scenarios flashes through his mind at her suggestion, it was simply out of the question to try anything on someone so adorably innocent. Soul sighed in resignation and scratched the back of his head. He needed to stop now before he did - or said - something he'd forever regret. "Fine. I'll be right back."

Maka took this time to observe his modest room. His desk was clean today, organized, and she noticed he had been too lazy to properly store his jacket so he'd thrown it over the chest pressed against the front of his bed. How many times had she told him not to do that? She sighed. He'd never learn.

"Heads up!"

Maka reflexively caught the pillow thrown at her and grinned, immediately falling back and burying her face in it.

His bed was warm and his smell stuck to her like adhesive. She was about ready to take a deep breath of his refreshing body wash when the sheets lifted from beside her and she felt the mattress sink with his weight. Suddenly, the warmth doubled and the bed felt slightly crowded. Maka peeked at him while he adjusted himself on his side, his messy white hair tickling her cheek. He went still almost immediately. It grew quiet again and Maka shifted on her back, staring at the ceiling. It felt weird, to sleep on the same bed as her partner, but the feeling wasn't entirely unwelcomed.

While her room conserved the cold, his room conserved heat.

She drowsily wondered if she could crash on his bed more often when she felt fingers touch her hand underneath the sheets.

"Geez," She heard him exclaim. "You're freezing!" His hands enveloped her own and Maka's eyes sprung wide open. She turned to look at him, finding him on his side facing her now with the sheets drawn up to his nose. His eyes were closed and she inwardly wished he would show some sort of reaction, some _expression_, instead of taking everything so coolly.

She could feel her face heat up when his fingers laced through hers. It was surprising how warm his hand was compared to hers.

"Soul..." Maka mumbled, uncomfortably. It wasn't right to hold hands with him so intimately; especially since she was aware he didn't view her like that. "I-I'm not cold anymore-"

She glimpsed his crooked grin before he pulled her into his chest.

Hot. It wasn't cold anymore, or warm, it was _hot_. Maka would swear she felt sweat begin to bead on her forehead the longer she remained pinned to his chest.

"Um. H..hey, Soul?" Maka strangled out, flushing a deeper pink when she felt his grin on her ear. He was taking far too much pleasure in her discomfort. "Soul, quit it!" She snapped, regaining her wits. She tried to wiggle out of his grip. "It's really late and I want to go to sleep!" She complained. "We have school tomorrow!"

"Then go to sleep." His voice was deep; it rumbled in his chest and through her fingers, which were pressed against it. She never noticed how deep his voice actually was until now.

"I would if you would just let me go, you jerk," she mumbled, frustrated.

"Just go to sleep, Maka." His cheek rested against her head and she stared at the rumpled white of his nightshirt timidly. There was no way she would be able to fall asleep when she was being pressed so close to him; close enough to hear the pound of his heart and every breath he took. She shut her eyes and pretended his arm wasn't resting on the curve of her waist, his fingers weren't twined with her own, and he hadn't just breathed _go to sleep_ huskily in her ear...

_I-I can't sleep._ Maka thought with wide eyes. She shifted to lay on her back again and he just slid deeper under the sheets and buried his face in to crook of her neck.

"Your heart's beating so fast..." She heard him murmur. She could feel his mocking grin on her skin. "Cute."

"Shut up!" She hissed, cursing her cheeks when they burned brighter.

He shifted, pressing his ear against her chest properly. Maka prepared a retort for the inevitable poke at her undersized chest but he surprised her by saying: "It's loud..."

His eyes closed, keeping track of every beat of her slowing heart. It was rhythms like these that soothed him the best; constant, single, beats...

"Just go to sleep, Soul. Tomorrow we have a test for Sid's class."

"Way to ruin my night." Soul muttered, ignoring her growl. He shut his eyes and stubbornly focused on falling asleep and forgetting all about the exam for Sid's class. At the very least, he got to sleep with his meister for the night. He'd deal with the repercussions of missing out on studying to join her at the movies in the morning. Or perhaps never.

Black Star and he needed to go eat some burgers, anyway, and tomorrow during Sid's class seemed like a good day to do it...

"You're not ditching class, Soul."

"I never said I would."

"I know you're thinking it."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. I know you are because you always get that little grin on your face when you're planning something." Maka pointed out and Soul was loathe to admit that he _was _slightly grinning at the thought of ditching class. He made sure to bury his nose in her shirt instead.

He might as well, Soul sighed, she would find a way to make him cave, anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I wrote this _months _ago using my iTouch. I nearly lost it twice due to carelessness before I finally saved it to my computer and got around to editing it. Now I'm one step closer to 100 stories! Wish me luck, guys!

_Scarlett._


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